GYMN-L Digest - 18 Aug 1995 to 19 Aug 1995 - Special issue

There are 18 messages totalling 1021 lines in this issue.

Topics in this special issue:

1. Russian Cup - M/W AA
2. posters
3. Romanian Gymnasts
4. Junior Women's finals
5. Sr. Women Finals
6. Russian Champs - M/W EF
7. Nationals
8. Daniela Bartova
9. Amanda Borden (2)
10. Zmeskal
11. Nationals Day 3
12. Amanda Borden (fwd)
13. Jr Women Finals - Commentary (2)
14. TWU Coach Appt
15. Men's Event Finals
16. Khorkina article

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Date: Fri, 18 Aug 1995 23:05:08 -0400
From: ***@MAGNUS.ACS.OHIO-STATE.EDU
Subject: Russian Cup - M/W AA

Here is a translation of the article about the Russian Cup, men's
and women's AA. Only the top 6 finishers were listed. The article
doesn't say one way or another whether this meet was a qualifier
for Worlds. But I can't imagine Russia would not bring Nemov and
Fabrichnova to Sabae!
I'll translate the EF article next and post it as soon as
I'm done. :)

Artistic Gymnastics: HOW MUCH IS TWO PLUS TWO? (By Natalya
Kalugina and German Popov. Sovetsky Sport, Aug. 4, p. 1.
Translated by Beth Squires:) We never would have guessed that
school lessons in arithmetic could prove to be useful for people
who deal strictly in the "humanities." But after the end of the
third rotation, the women had to do some adding and subtracting.
Muscovite Yevgenia Roshchina was ahead of Natalya Bobrova of
Novosibirsk by .15 points.
Zhenya [Roshchina] completed her competition first. She
received a 9.45 for her vault. Natasha had the floor exercise
left. Internationally rated judge Anatoly Gorodetsky figured it
out right away:
"Well, for her to get enough points with room to spare,
she'll need a 9.7"
Natasha mounted the podium. The very first impression one
got was that the music was wrong. It didn't have enough character
for her. Not enough for her to show not only tumbling but also
herself - the way she is in reality: feminine, delicate and very
strong.
The second impression: Bobrova should add just a little more
difficulty...
The judges posted the base score - the routine would be
marked out of a 9.9 (there's that "just a little more!"). The
result was a 9.4. The bronze had slipped out from under her nose.
The girl needed that bronze as much as the air she breathes.
We have already reported that Natalya suffered a serious injury,
but she has returned to the podium. But we haven't reported that
less than a year has passed since, following a similar injury,
the very talented Yekaterina Vandysheva was unable to recover
mentally and did not make a comeback. And this saga unfolded
right before Bobrova's eyes.
The women among the sports journalists could not contain
themselves: "God must help Natashka!"
Before our very eyes, the officials recalculated Natalya
Bobrova's AA result three times. And three times we couldn't
believe our own eyes. After the third time, it was announced,
"The bronze medalist in the Russian Cup is Natalya Bobrova of
Novosibirsk."
But before this, Dina Kochetkova and Svetlana Khorkina
battled it out. In the vault, Khorkina not only made up the .025
that she was behind Kochetkova after the compulsories, but she
surpassed her by .15. Svetlana retained this margin during the
next event, and increased it to .25 on the third apparatus. The
fourth and final event arrived - the floor exercise.
Everyone who follows gymnastics even a little remembers that
a year and a half ago, at the Russian Championships in Voronezh,
Khorkina's lead was much more commanding. But Dina went out on
the floor and scored a 10, pushing Svetlana into second place.
Something similar could have happened here. Kochetkova
performed first - 9.75. Khorkina went up immediately after her.
And she lost. Granted, only in the floor exercises - 9.6. Then
came two simple arithmetic operations, and the result was that
Sveta was the champion. So went the evening of gymnastics
entertainment at St. Petersburg's Sports Army Club.
The men had performed in the morning. One could analyze
their merits and shortcomings ad nauseum. This only makes sense,
since, ultimately, it is not through the experienced Karbonenko
and Voropayev that gymnastics is going to grow.
Especially pleasing among the juniors was the light and
elegant Nikolai Kryukov of Voronezh. Perhaps right now it is
simply psychologically difficult for him to compete with the
seniors. But in terms of the level of his exercises, he is ready
for this battle. And in terms of desire to win, he even surpasses
them.
Of the "middle" generation, which has almost outgrown the
junior ranks but has yet to mature into the seniors, Yevgeny
Podgorny of Novosibirsk has clearly made progress. He is
gradually changing from a "whipping boy" into a reliable and
powerful gymnast. Suffice it to say that in training Podgorny has
repeatedly performed a triple back on the floor. Granted, he
didn't risk it in St. Petersburg - he has only just recovered
from an injury.
Of today's big-names, Yevgeny Shabayev can be taken
seriously. We realize that during the times of stagnation [the
Brezhnev era] everyone got sick and tired of stories about heroic
feats performed by athletes in spite of great pain. Yes, it's
tear-jerking. And it is crocodile tears - we can agree to that.
But we agree as long as we don't see the gymnast's eyes, dulled
by pain, as he performs on the rings with an injured collar bone.
We aren't going to get into a debate about whether it's good or
bad for gymnasts who have not fully recovered to compete. But it
would have been the greatest injustice if Shabayev, after going
through agony on the rings (although this agony was hidden from
the crowd) hadn't won the overall Russian Cup title.
On the whole, the men's competition was still a little
boring. There clearly wasn't enough intrigue.
But in the evening, after the competition for the Russian
Cup was over, we met with the senior national team coach, Leonid
Arkayev:
"Was it by happenstance or by design that the Cup became an
open competition?"
"Almost by happenstance. Gymnasts from some of the other
former Soviet republics asked for permission to perform. We
couldn't see any reason for refusing: what's wrong with our
competing together? So that's what happened."
"What is the official status?"
"So far it hasn't changed. But if everyone wants the Russian
Cup to become an open tournament, we will support that idea."
"Compare the men's and women's competitions. Doesn't it seem
to you that the leaders of the men's team almost made a point of
refusing to put up a good fight?"
"No. Dmitry Karbonenko and Aleksei Voropayev are experienced
enough to know how to calculate their strength for the entire
season. Perhaps it didn't make sense for them to go all-out here.
But the juniors are rushing into battle. They aren't simply
charged up, they're ready to show exercises that are destined for
success. The girls don't have such a wide assortment of elements.
So for me, the competition among the guys was even more
interesting.

Results
The Russian Cup and the Russian Championships
in the Individual Events. Artistic gymnastics.
St. Petersburg Sports Army Club, Aug. 2

Men's AA: 1. Yevgeny Shabayev (Moscow) - 113.6
2. Dmitry Karbonenko (Moscow) - 112.9
3. Aleksei Voropayev (Moscow) - 112.8
4. Dmitry Vasilenko (Cherkessk) - 112.0
5. Yevgeny Podgorny (Novosibirsk) - 111.975
6. Yury Gotov (Cherkessk) - 111.25

Women's AA: 1. Svetlana Khorkina (Belgorod) - 76.95
2. Dina Kochetkova (Moscow) - 76.8
3. Natalya Bobrova (Novosibirsk) - 75.725
4. Yelena Grosheva (Yaroslavl) - 75.425
5. Yelena Kuznetsova (St. Petersburg) - 75.25
6. Yelena Dolgopolova (Volzhsky) - 75.225

[Don't ask me WHAT happened to Roshchina! Considering the
beginning of the article, I expected to see her in 4th, or at
least the top 6. But these are the results as given in the paper,
and the authors don't give any explanations... Sorry!]

Beth

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Date: Fri, 18 Aug 1995 20:16:22 -0700
From: ***@IX.NETCOM.COM
Subject: posters

Has anyone gotten their poster of the '94 Worlds that was posted about
a few weeks ago? I sent off for one and I was just wondering who has
gotten theirs. I am very excited about it. Also I wrote to about 7
gymnasts (fan mail) and I am hoping for a response. I must have checked
the mail 5 times today waiting for it to come :)

Margi :)

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Date: Fri, 18 Aug 1995 20:19:58 -0700
From: ***@IX.NETCOM.COM
Subject: Romanian Gymnasts

I asked this before and since no one responded I guess I will ask
again. Someone wrote in a while ago responding to my topic about fan
mail. They said that they had the home addresses to the Romanian and
Chinese Gymnasts. It you are the person who wrote that, please e-mail
me. I responded and deleted the message and I never got a response.
Sorry for those this doesn't concern. I guess my next stop is in the
back issues. Bye!

Margi :)

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Date: Fri, 18 Aug 1995 22:23:24 -0600
From: ***@RMII.COM
Subject: Junior Women's finals

1995 U.S. Championships
Superdome, New Orleans, LA

Women's Gymnastics, Junior Optionals II
18 August 1995, Friday

1. Mina Kim (Dynamo), 75.625
2. Vanessa Atler (Gliders), 75.450
3. Alexis Brion (Gymstrada), 75.075
4. Kristen Stucky (Salto Gymnastics), 74.725
5. Robin Phelps (Cincinatti), 74.675
6. Jamie Dantzscher (Gliders), 74.075
7. Breanne Rutherford (NEGE), 74.000
8. Kaitie Dyson (Cypress), 73.975
9. Jeanette Antolin (Scats), 73.950
10. Rebecca Whitehurst (Cypress), 73.725
11. Melinda Baimbridge (Cypress), 73.700
12. Coreen Murphy (Desert Devils), 73.650
13. Kinsey Rowe (Cypress), 73.550
14. Kelly Parkinson (Cypress), 73.350
15. Kristin Jenson (Parkettes), 73.300
16. Jennifer Carow (Salto Gymnastics), 73.200
17. Becky Meldrum (Parkettes), 72.925
18. Katie Taylor (Kentwood), 72.650
19. Anna Gingrich (Capital), 72.025
20. Jeana Rice (Brown's), 71.875
21. Onnie Willis (Puget Sound), 71.300
22. Katie McFarland (Gymstrada), 70.850
23. Nicole Bongiovanni (CATS), 70.650
24. Lindsay Wing (Gymnastics World), 70.575
25. Audra Steinbrook (Krafft Academy), 70.300
26. Nicole Kilpatrick (North Stars), 69.975
27. Alexa Martinez (Capital), 69.600
28. Nekia Demery (Krafft), 69.175
29. Jane McIntosh (Great Lakes Gymnastics), 68.700
30. Ashley Lamb (Capital City), 53.925
31. Lindsey Baker (West Valley Gymnastics), 52.750

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Date: Fri, 18 Aug 1995 22:24:01 -0600
From: ***@RMII.COM
Subject: Sr. Women Finals

1995 U.S. Championships
Superdome, New Orleans, LA

Women's Gymnastics, Senior Finals
18 August 1995, Friday

1. Dominique Moceanu (Karolyi's), 78.450
2. Shannon Miller (Dynamo), 78.250
3. Jaycie Phelps (Cinccinnati), 77.730
4. Dominique Dawes (Hill's Angels), 77.520
5. Kerri Strug (CO Aerials), 77.060
6. Mary Beth Arnold (Flips), 75.870
7. Doni Thompson (CO Aerials), 75.750
8. Amy Chow (West Valley), 75.520
9. Katie Teft (Great Lakes), 75.170
10. Heather Brink (Dynamo), 75.090
11. Monica Flammer (Cypress), 74.860
12. Andree Pickens (Cypress), 74.770
13. Reagan Tomasek (Hill's Angels), 74.260
14. Theresa Kulikowski (CO Aerials), 74.110
15. Mohini Bhardwaj (Brown's), 74.080
16. Alecia Ingram (Dynamo), 73.870
17. Deidra Graham (Olympus), 73.630
18. Soni Meduna (Dynamo), 73.550
19. Elizabeth Reid (Karons), 73.370
20. Rachel Rochelli (Cypress), 73.350
21. Sarah Cain (Grand Island Twisters), 73.180
22. Kara Fry (Parkettes), 73.100
23. Kellee Davis (American Twisters), 73.040
24. Kristi Lichey (Cincinnati), 72.860
25. Tamaryn Taylor (Scats), 72.810
26. Kristen Maloney (Parkettes), 72.790
27. Ashley Kever (Capital), 72.240
28. Brittnee Penman (Desert Devils), 71.470
29. Shannon Bowles (Atlantic), 71.360
30. Amy Young (Scats), 70.590
31. Lanna Apisukh (Broadway Gymnastics), 69.510
32. Chrissy Van Fleet (Brown's Metro), 67.200
33. Amanda Borden (Cincinnati), 46.410
34. Marianna Webster (Dynamo), 43.680
35. Jessica Rieland (Dynamo), 42.720
36. Heidi Harriman (Peach State), 40.800
37. Jamie Martini (Peach State), 40.200
38. Larissa Fontaine (Hill's Angels), 9.360

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Date: Sat, 19 Aug 1995 00:33:21 -0400
From: ***@MAGNUS.ACS.OHIO-STATE.EDU
Subject: Russian Champs - M/W EF

Artistic Gymnastics: A LITTLE BIT OF THE DEVIL IS SOMETIMES
LOCKED UP IN US. (By Natalya Kalugina and German Popov. Sovetsky
Sport, Aug. 5, p. 1. Translated by Beth Squires:) The Russian
Championships in the Individual Events began and ended on the
same day. The leitmotif of the day was the phrase, "I'm tired."
It was repeated by the athletes, the coaches, the judges, and
your humble servants. More than once.
Meanwhile, the final day brought several pleasant surprises.
At the very beginning and the very end of the competition, two
talented gymnasts who totally unexpectedly finished out of the
top 10 in the Russian Cup managed to "rehabilitate" themselves.
Oksana Fabrichnova shared second place with Svetlana Khorkina on
vault, and Aleksei Nemov also had a share - but on high bar.
After the competition was over, Alyosha, with dark circles under
his eyes, could barely make it over to us.
"That's it. I'm wiped out. But I HAD to win."
He was smiling for the first time in three days. In the
women's vault there was another small but nevertheless pleasant
surprise. Roza Galiyeva of Samara became the Russian champion.
You remember her, of course! How could anyone forget the little
girl from Almalyk, Uzbekistan, who stunned the Soviet gymnastics
world a year before the Barcelona Olympics. How could one forget
the sweet little "tablesetter" of the great 1992 team? But even
during the award ceremony, the announcer slipped up:
"The medal and certificate are presented to Roaz Galiyeva by
Olympic champion Yelena Shevchenko."
After a pause, she added, "Oh yes, and Roza is also an
Olympic champion."
We chatted with Galiyeva the previous day.
"How did you wind up in Samara?"
"I simply had nowhere to go. I didn't have an apartment, and
one turned up there."
"But why not in Moscow?"
"I'll be there soon."
"What about Uzbekistan?"
"I don't intend to quit gymnastics. The conditions (both for
training and for competing) are better in Russia."
While everything went as expected among the guys - the truly
famous gymnasts became champions - the girls decided to not be
small-minded and offered up yet another surprise. The bronze
medalist on beam was Ksenia Bogdanova of Penza.
No matter how many coaches we asked, no one could remember
whether Ksyusha had already turned 14 or is still 13. They just
kept repeating, "The little girl was born in 1981." Incidentally,
this "little girl" of 1981, plus Svetlana Khorkina and Natalya
Bobrova, were the only ones to perform on beam without a fall. So
the little one also has a champion's character.
It would seem that the girls could have calmed down - there
were enough surprises for one day! But the individual
personalities didn't even think about keeping themselves under
wraps. The more we know Yelena Grosheva of Yaroslavl, the more we
consider her a powerful all-arounder who favors an athletic style
in artistic gymnastics (sorry for the tautology). [The
"tautology" exists in Russian, since "artistic gymnastics" is
literally called "athletic gymnastics." "Artistic gymnastics" is
what Russian-speakers call rhythmic...]
My God, what a floor exercise she performed! I don't think
there's been anything like it since Svetlana Boginskaya's famous
"Rafaella Carra." [Sorry if I spelled that wrong, and also that I
wrote "Carmen" in yesterday's post...]
[The rest of the article is about the meet sponsors and
isn't terribly interesting, so I'm omitting it.]

Results
Russian Championships in the Individual Events
St. Petersburg Sports Armt Club, Aug. 3

Men - Floor: 1. Yevgeny Podgorny - 9.7
2. Yevgeny Shabayev - 9.5
2. Dmitry Vasilenko - 9.5
Pommels: 1. Aleksei Voropayev - 9.8
2. Yevgeny Shabayev - 9.7
3. Yury Gotov - 9.55
Rings: 1. Voropayev - 9.75
1. I. Ivanov - 9.75
3. Vasilenko - 9.6
Vault: 1. Dmitry Karbonenko - 9.65
2. Voropayev - 9.6
3. Shabayev - 9.525
P-bars: 1. Gotov - 9.65
2. Shabayev - 9.625
2. Voropayev - 9.625
High bar: 1. A. Bondarenko - 9.8
1. Aleksei Nemov - 9.8
3. Voropayev - 9.725

Women - Vault: 1. Roza Galiyeva - 9.762
2. Svetlana Khorkina - 9.712
2. Oksana Fabrichnova - 9.712
Bars: 1. Khorkina - 9.925
2. N. Ivanova - 9.825
3. Yelena Grosheva - 9.725
Beam: 1. Khorkina - 9.75
2. Ivanova - 9.425
3. Ksenia Bogdanova - 9.275
Floor: 1. Dina Kochetkova - 9.825
2. Grosheva - 9.6
3. Yelena Kuznetsova - 9.5

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Date: Sat, 19 Aug 1995 03:29:49 -0400
From: ***@FREENET.SCRI.FSU.EDU
Subject: Nationals

YES! YES! YES! GO DOMINIQUE MOCEANU!!!
Ahem. Excuse that outburst, but I wanted her to win and I was there to
see it. Her bars and beam routines were great. The way she stuck the
landings!
BEAM: THE NEMESIS
Shannon Miller fell on a layout. She was looking wobbly before.
Dominique Dawes was off on her first layout, and didn't do the other
two. She also only did a double back dismount. (Is she injured?)
Keri Strug did good with passes landed on her feet. When she did a back
flip down to a sitting posistion, she almost fell. This happened twice.
Various other unknowns (to me) fell.
Dominique M. I have to rave about her again. In the warm ups, she
couldn't stick the dismount, but when it came time to perform, she was ready.
FLOOR EX
I liked Heather Brinks dance.
Jaycee Phelps did a double Front! Look out Lilia.
The Nutcracker seems to be popular. Keri Strug, and someone else, I
think, used music from it. I prefer this routine of Keri's to her
previous one.
Shannon Miller landed all her passes.
D.M. (The champ) did her usual floor routine. She always seems to bounce
on the second pass. She got a 9.800, and I think that's why.
I didn't see D.D. on floor.
Vault
Shannon (I don't like her that much, but I have to admit, she's good) did
the yurchenko 1 1/2 twist. Stuck the first one. A slight step on the
second.
D.D. hop and step on her two vaults.
D.M. This seems to be her weakest event. No stuck landings there.
Katie Teft didn't get a good block off the horse (according to the guy
behind me) but landed pretty well.
UB
D.M. What can I say? Her geinger (sp) could have been higher, but the
rest was beautiful.
D.D. High release move. Landed in perfect D.D. fashion.
Kerri Solid routine
Shannon also did her usual performance, but did a full in instead of a
double layout.
Someone did what looked like a full twisting reverse Hecht.
Well, I know I said I'd do this if you were interested, but I couldn't
resist. Sorry my commentary wasn't more detailed, and maybe inaccurate,
but hey, I'm an amateur fan and it was overwhelming seeing all those
gymnasts competing at once. This was my first time seeing them in
person. No autographs though :-<. I'm going back for women's EF tomorrow.

A member of the race that knows Joseph
Angela

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Date: Sat, 19 Aug 1995 12:20:36 +0200
From: ***@MICRONET.IT
Subject: Daniela Bartova

Does anybody know anything about Daniela Bartova? She's the world record
holder in women's pole vault (4.20 mts) and yesterday she told me about her
past career in gymnastics: czechian, 21 years old, twice AA national
champion, was 60th in WC in Indianapolis, participated at OG in Barcelona,
and then she quitted. Thanks.


Carlo

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Date: Sat, 19 Aug 1995 06:54:19 -0700
From: ***@IX.NETCOM.COM
Subject: Amanda Borden

Does anyone know what happened to Amanda Borden at Nationals? Thanks!

Margi :)

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Date: Sat, 19 Aug 1995 11:11:21 -0400
From: ***@GATEWAY.US.SIDWELL.EDU
Subject: Re: Amanda Borden

> Does anyone know what happened to Amanda Borden at Nationals? Thanks!

According to the newspaper and the people sitting behind me, Amanda has a
possible fractured left big toe. She decided to see if it hurt during
warmups, and apparently it did. The newspaper (Times-Picayune) said that
Amanda will petition to enter Worlds Trials and that acceptance of her
petition is probably just a formality (I think Amanda has proven herself
to be a worthy international competitor ;)

Lisa

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Date: Sat, 19 Aug 1995 12:23:35 +0000
From: ***@GATEWAY.US.SIDWELL.EDU
Subject: Re: Zmeskal

> Was Zmeskal at Nationals? How did she do in Compulsories?

No, I believe Zmeskal decided to skip Nationals this year and
continue working towards the Atlanta Olympics. At any rate, she
certainly wasn't competing.

On the subject of no-shows, Trent Dimas was scheduled to compete high
bar, but he didn't show up. Don't know why.

Lisa

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Date: Sat, 19 Aug 1995 12:23:35 +0000
From: ***@GATEWAY.US.SIDWELL.EDU
Subject: Nationals Day 3

Another exciting day in New Orleans! Today the new Junior and
Senior National women's champions were crowned. All women's
gymnastics today, so I wasn't totally lost ;).

Junior Women's Optionals Day 2:
As far as I could tell, this was exactly the same as Junior Women's
Optionals Day 1 (Wednesday) except the ticket prices were higher.
Perhaps a few kids threw a different trick here or there, but no
radical changes. Many of the gymnasts seemed kind of tired, and
falls were abundant. In fact, I don't think that any of the gymnasts
got through today without a single major break. My father noted
early on in the competition that the winner would be the gymnast
still standing at the end, and that's pretty much what it turned out
to be.

Mina Kim was the one still standing. She rebounded nicely from a
fall in the first rotation on her whip --> triple twist on floor
(8.825) and hit the rest of her routines cold, including two
handspring pike front vaults (little hops; 9.475), a Tkatchev and a
*stuck* double layout dismount on bars (9.525) and a flip
flop-layout-flip flop on beam (9.575). Behind Kim was Vanessa
Atler, who looked early on like she would repeat her multiple-fall
day of Wednesday when she pulled a little too hard on her
uprise-handstand on bars and fell over on the other side. Atler
pulled together nicely though, sticking her double layout off bars
(9.125), nailing a front tuck and a flip flop-flip flop-layout
series on beam (9.60), landing a tucked full-in on floor and hitting
her handspring tucked front full vault (9.15).

Tiny Alexis Brion looked poised to win the title after sticking her
beam set cold (flip flop-flip flop-*high* pike back, front tuck, flip
flop-flip flop-full-in with one step; 9.70) and skipping through and
excellent floor routine (double layout, piked full-in, triple twist;
9.65) while keeping up on vault with a handspring front pike (9.55).
She couldn't stand up her double front dismount on bars, however,
and had to settle for third. Kristen Stucky, tied for second after
compulsories, led early on after scoring a 9.40 on her handspring
double twist vault but came to a dead hang after one of her release
moves on bars (8.70) and had to settle for fourth. Robin Phelps --
OK, so maybe I was wrong about her being Jaycie's sister, but she
looked good anyways. She ended up in fifth, including a 9.50 on an
excellent handspring piked front vault and a 9.675 on her bars
routine.

Notes:
* Ashley Lamb took a rough fall on beam in the first rotation. It
looked like she was a little crooked on a back handspring but went
for the layout anyway. She didn't get enough push and landed on her
head. She was tough though -- she didn't compete floor, but she did
compete vault and bars. I missed her bars score, but she got a 9.30
on vault.

* Kinsey Rowe missed both hands on a Yurchenko during vault warmups.
She was all right, though, and she competed a Yurchenko layout on
vault(9.20). Too bad she just missed the national team -- she does
some nice stuff.

* Jamie Dantzscher tumbled a flip flop-tucked full on beam, but fell.
She really does some nice stuff -- now hopefully she can improve on
her consistency.

* Kaitie Dyson seemed to be having ankle troubles and had two falls
on floor (her first event) which dropped her from second all the way
down to 13th. She came back nicely, though, and ended up 8th.

Senior Women's Optionals (AA final):
Although Amanda Borden had to drop out because of her hurt toe, this
didn't make the competition any less exciting. Dominique Moceanu
and Shannon Miller battled for first place while Kerri Strug,
Dominique Dawes, Amy Chow, and Jaycie Phelps fought for the
remaining spots in the top six. Consistency was most important as
many of the top gymnasts had major breaks on at least one apparatus.
By far the largest crowd yet (5,500, according to the
Times-Picayune) strongly supported Dawes and Miller at the
beginning, but by the end, its sympathies seemed to lie with
Moceanu.

Phelps set the tone early in the first rotation with a beautiful bars
set, including a Tkatchev, a Yaeger, and a *stuck* double front
dismount (9.85). It's pretty incredible that *no one* outside the
gymnastics community realizes the potential of Phelps; the only
mention of her in today's Times-Picayune was in reference to how
Dawes finished behind her. Miller, the leader after compulsories,
put her flip flop-3 layouts back in, but unfortunately she fell. I
hope she doesn't take it out though, because it's really nice seeing
her pushing her difficulty level. Moceanu hit her Yurchenko 1.5 on
vault (9.90; a little high IMHO), Strug threw a piked Yaegar and a
full-out on bars (9.825) and Dawes did her usual back-to-back
tumbling, which I did not feel like writing down, for a 9.80.

Phelps led off the second rotation on beam. She had some little
wobbles and I think she fell on her dismount, but when she hits that
set (which includes a split jump-immediate front tuck and some
beautiful layouts), it'll be nice. Tonight she had to settle for a
9.20. Miller hit her tumbling of whip --> piked full-in, Rudi -->
layout stepout, a front layout with a double twist, and a tucked
full-in (9.825). Moceanu kept up with a 9.825 bars routine that
included a hecht (a long reach for her!), a Gienger, a Tkatchev, and
a *stuck* double layout dismount. Bela went wild! Chow hit her bars
set, dismounting with her customary double twisting double back
(short landing) for a 9.425 while Strug struggled with her back
handspring straddle downs on beam for an 8.85. Dawes stepped on her
Yurchenko 1.5 and her handspring front pike for a 9.85, I think.
Doni Thompson hit a beautiful beam routine that featured a flip
flop-layout-flip flop-layout, a double turn, and two flip flops into
a double back (9.675). She seems to have grown some since last year,
and it makes her lines really nice. Heather Brink also tumbled a
nice double layout on floor.
Standings after 2 rotations:
1. Moceanu 4. Phelps
2. Miller 5. Strug
3. Dawes 6. Chow

In the third rotation, Miller lead off with a Yurchenko half turn to
front layout (Hristakieva) and a Tsuk version of the Hristakieva
(same postflight but Tsuk entry instead of Yurchenko entry) for a
9.85, I think. Moceanu scored the same on beam for a flip flop-3
layouts, a front tuck, and a roundoff-double tuck dismount. Strug
regained her composure on floor with a double layout, a front full
--> front layout, and a tucked full-in (9.80). Chow dropped off
beam on a flip flop-layout-flip flop (8.40) while Dawes hit a
stylish bar set (but she caught her Hindorf a little too close) for
a 9.80. Phelps *nailed* a double front on floor and finished up
with a front layout double twist (not all the way around) and a 2.5
twist-punch front for a...um...I missed the score :(.

Chow came back on floor with her Arabian double front with a half
twist (9.425). Strug performed two Hristakievas on vault, each with
small hops, for a 9.80. Dawes had troubles on beam, doing only one
layout instead of the two that she was warming up, but her double
turn was nice and her front tuck was perfect (9.525). Phelps did
two of the Hristakievas with the Tsuk entry like Miller (9.825).
Miller's bar routine included a hop full-Gienger, a full pirouette
into a Tkatchev, and a full-out dismount (9.75). Now, I know the
rotation order is random, but how on earth did Moceanu manage to
"randomly" end up last on floor, the only person competing by that
time? Well, she hit her piked full-in, her front full --> front
layout, and her 2.5 twist-punch front (according to Bela, that's her
watered down tumbling) for a 9.80 and the championship. Although she
was overscored on vault in both compos and optionals, I think she
really deserved to win. She looked clean and confident, and she was
the only one of the top six not to have a fall or a major break. In
fact, it's kind of surprising that Miller was so close (.20) because
Moceanu was clearly the better gymnast.

Well, once again I've gone on just a *leetle* bit too long, so I'll
end here. Today: Senior Men's and Women's event finals. And don't
forget to watch Nationals on TV tonight!!

Lisa

------------------------------

Date: Sat, 19 Aug 1995 10:41:05 -0600
From: ***@RMII.COM
Subject: Re: Amanda Borden (fwd)

| > Does anyone know what happened to Amanda Borden at Nationals? Thanks!
|
| According to the newspaper and the people sitting behind me, Amanda has a
| possible fractured left big toe. She decided to see if it hurt during

Actually, it's her second left toe, for you Borden fans. Also, they
told the press that it might be broken (vs. fractured).

Rachele

------------------------------

Date: Sat, 19 Aug 1995 10:44:55 -0600
From: ***@RMII.COM
Subject: Jr Women Finals - Commentary

The following is written by Debbie:

1995 U.S. Championships
Superdome, New Orleans, LA

Women's Gymnastics, Junior Finals commentary
19 August 1995, Friday

First Rotation:

Mina Kim, the leader after the first day of junior competition, began
on FX and immediately made things difficult for herself by falling on
her opening triple twist (8.825). Floor was also a problem for Katie
Dyson, who fell on her 1st and 2nd passes (front hand, front layout
full, punch front; 2.5 twist) for 8.275. Both showed excellent dance
and extended leaps, however. Jeana Rice fared much better on this
event, with strong tumbling and cool dance (9.50). Vanessa Atler's
opening cast to handstand on UB had too much power, and she went over
the top and jumped off. Upon remounting, she did a Tkachev (bent
legs) and dismounted with a high double layout for 9.125. Her
teammate, Jamie Dantzscher, did a nice Gienger, a *beautiful* floating
Pak salto, and dismounted with a double twisting double tuck, which
she took very close to the bar -- scary (9.675). Over on B, Alexis
Brion was nailing her set (FF, FF, 2- foot layout; punch front; FF,
FF, tucked full-in) for 9.775. Ashley Lamb opened with a planche to
V-sit; her foot slipped during a layout series, and she hit her head
-- ala Gogean in Dortmund. Lindsay Wing, Onnie Willis, and Jane
McIntosh all did Ivancheva vaults, while Katie McFarland did a piked
front.

Second Rotation:

Brion's tumbling was incredible. She opened with a double layout,
followed with a piked full-in, and finished with a triple (all
landings were stuck) for 9.75. It should be noted that, while many
girls attempted triples on FX, they achieved 2 3/4 at most, while
Brion's was a true triple. Antolin's choreography was lovely -- she's
a great dancer -- and her tumbling wasn't too shabby, either. Her
9.025 was the result of a shaky landing on her 2nd pass (double pike).
Katie Taylor's routine stood out not only for expressive dance but
also because she actually smiled (9.25). Tucked (Whitehurst and
Demery) and piked (Kim and Baimbridge) front vaults were the norm in
this rotation. Kim hopped both attempts, while Baimbridge took 2 big
steps on her 2nd try. Dantzscher fell from B 3 times (7.95), which
dropped her to 14th. On UB, McIntosh did a high Tkachev, but hit her
foot on the upper bar, and touched her knee to the mat on her double
front dismount (8.1).

Third Rotation:

Kristin Jensen, who has the longest legs in the competition, opened on
FX with an arabian double front (sit); then did a front hand, front
layout full, punch front; and closed with a 2.5 twist. Her triple
turn was nicely done (8.95). Nicole Kilpatrick's opening full-in was
low with a big lunge forward; she put her hand down on her closing
triple (8.525). Dantzscher redeemed herself here by hitting
everything (9.5). Atler also tumbled well for 9.575. Both were quite
expressive and went for mature rather than cute choreography. On V,
Antolin again impressed with a great Ivancheva -- very high and tight
with a small hop on landing (9.375). Brion increased her lead with a
high piked front (small hop on the 1st attempt and a step on the 2nd)
for 9.55. On UB, Kim, Rice and Dyson all did double layout dismounts,
and all stuck their landings (9.525, 9.575, and 9.275, respectively).
Kim was the only gymnast in the entire meet to perform this dismount
with a *completely* straight body, which gave the impression that she
was floating to the mat. Also on UB, Audra Steinbrook showed some
fast, pencil-straight giants and a cool Higgins to front giant
(9.225). Lindsay Wing had an interesting B combo: split leap immediate
punch front. Once again, Willis' front on was very high but her
nerves got the best of her (2 falls for 8.175.

Fourth Rotation:

The Charter Oaks girls finished up on V. Dantzscher did a high
Ivancheva (small hop forward for 9.70), while Atler did a full
twisting tucked front. She had loose legs on both attempts (steps on
the 1st, sat down on the 2nd), but when she tidies it up she'll be
hard to beat here (9.60). The Gymastrada girls had a tough time on
their final events. McFarland underrotated her opening double layout
and later faced a full-in (8.1). Brion was well on her way to
becoming the junior champion (on bars she did giant full to Tkachev;
front giant 1/2 turn to giant; giant on the low bar). She went for a
double front dismount and overrotated it, bouncing from her feet onto
her stomach (8.675). This left the door wide open for Kim, who took
advantage of the opportunity with a solid B (FF, layout, FF;
Omelianchik; split leap, FF; double pike dismount with a step) for
9.575 and the title. Dyson did a very solid FF, FF to 2-foot layout
and a couple of Omelianchiks but overrotated her double pike (9.15).
Rice (a Lysenko lookalike) stuck her FF to 2 layouts but came off on a
punch front (8.40). Rice is the daughter of Joan Moore Rice, 4-time
National Champion (early seventies).

Debbie

------------------------------

Date: Sat, 19 Aug 1995 11:59:08 -0600
From: ***@ZEPHYR.MEDCHEM.PURDUE.EDU
Subject: Re: Jr Women Finals - Commentary

What is an "Ivancheva" vault?

------------------------------

Date: Sat, 19 Aug 1995 13:08:56 -0400
From: ***@AOL.COM
Subject: TWU Coach Appt

From STK Newswire:

Texas Women's University -- Named Lisa Woody assistant gymnastics coach.

Mara

------------------------------

Date: Sat, 19 Aug 1995 14:29:56 -0600
From: ***@RMII.COM
Subject: Men's Event Finals

1995 U.S. Championships
Superdome, New Orleans, LA

Men's Gymnastics, Event Finals
19 August 1995, Saturday

Floor Exercise
-------------------------------------------
1. Daniel Stover (Oklahoma), 9.675
2. Blaine Wilson (Ohio State), 9.500
3. Mike Racanelli (Bart Conner's), 9.350
4. Jarrod Hanks (Oklahoma), 9.275
5. Casey Bryan (Oklahoma), 9.125
6. John Macready (OTC), 8.925

Pommel Horse
-------------------------------------------
1. Mark Sohn (Unattached, coached by Karl Schier), 9.812
2. Jason Bertram (Cal-Berkeley), 9.650
3. Chris Waller (UCLA), 9.562
4. Jair Lynch (Stanford), 8.950
5. John Roethlisberger (Minnesota), 8.925
6. Mihai Bagiu (Gold Cup), 8.825

Still Rings
-------------------------------------------
1. Paul O'Neill (OTC), 9.812
2. John Roethlisberger (Minnesota), 9.575
3. Jarrod Hanks (Oklahoma), 9.562
4. Blaine Wilson (Ohio State), 9.500
5. Chris Lamorte (Gold Cup), 9.350
5. Mike Moran (Daggett's), 9.350

Vault
-------------------------------------------
1. David St. Pierre (Broadway), 9.387
2. Brian Yee (Minnesota), 9.187
3. John Macready (OTC), 9.175
3. Steve Marshall (Army), 9.175
5. Steve McCain (UCLA), 9.062
6. Neil Niemi (Ohio State), 8.675


Parallel Bars
-------------------------------------------
1. John Roethlisberger(Minnesota), 9.450
2. Chris Waller (UCLA), 9.425
3. Blaine Wilson (Ohio State), 9.400
4. Jarrod Hanks (Oklahoma), 9.375
5. Jair Lynch (Stanford), 9.000
6. Brian Yee (Minnesota), 8.550

High Bar
-------------------------------------------
1. John Roethlisberger (Minnesota), 9.837
2. John Macready (OTC), 9.612
3. Casey Bryan (Oklahoma), 9.400
4. Mihai Bagiu (Gold Cup), 9.300
5. Chainey Umphrey (UCLA), 8.425
6. Jim Foody (UCLA), 8.025

------------------------------

Date: Sat, 19 Aug 1995 18:16:17 -0400
From: ***@MAGNUS.ACS.OHIO-STATE.EDU
Subject: Khorkina article

Here is an interesting article about Khorkina from early May of
this year. I had known her training conditions in Belgorod
weren't the greatest, but didn't realize just how bad they really
are! The article provides some interesting glimpses into her
personality and her coach's. Enjoy!

Beth

THE BEGINNING. SPLASHES OF SVETLANA. (By Natalya Kalugina.
Sovetsky Sport, May 5, p. 2. Translated by Beth Squires:) It
seems as if it were a very long time ago. Before the Olympics in
which our team performed for the last time before breaking up
into separate republics and states. A brilliant and invincible
team.
It was the last Championships of the USSR (or the first and
last Championships of the CIS?), at which the seven strongest
were to be selected for the trip to Barcelona. There were
certainly people to watch there: among the men - Shcherbo,
Kharkov, Belenky, Misyutin and Korobchinsky, and among the women
- Boginskaya, Gutsu, Lysenko, Chusovitina and Galiyeva. A few
months later all of them would become Olympic champions. Many in
several events.
The women's AA competition was coming to an end. I looked at
the podium slightly blurry-eyed. On the one hand, I was tired. On
the other hand, I was subconsciously saving my strength to watch
the top contenders. A long-legged little girl was performing her
floor exercise on the podium. I was approached by Lidia Ivanova,
a many-time Olympic champion and internationally rated judge who
was a state coach at that time.
"So, do you like that girl? You should like her!"
"Lidia Gavrilovna, there have been so many who are all legs,
and legs with no spring in them at that. She'll jump around for
maybe another year, and then she'll be bandaging those long
legs."
"Don't say such things! Write this down anyway. Believe me,
she'll amount to something. Sveta Khorkina from Belgorod."
* * *
Fourteen-year-old Svetka hid in a corner and sobbed, barely
audibly. She had just lost the Junior European Championships.
"Grandpa," her personal coach Boris Vasilyevich Pilkin, had left
the training gym for some reason, and the male team officials
(also coaches) who were left decided to engage in some
rehabilitation work.
"Let her vomit! Maybe then she'll learn not to fall!"
My female heart couldn't stand it: I went up to the little
girl and led her away from the angry men.
At the championships' closing banquet a few hours later, the
men fell upon the elderly Pilkin:
"Boris Vasilyevich, you're living by the criteria of the
1960s. What your Khorkina is doing became outdated 20 years ago."
The little girl pursed her lips. "What's their problem?!
Boris Vasilyevich knows better!"
So passed May of 1993.
* * *
Coach Boris Pilkin is a unique phenomenon in today's
gymnastics. I don't know where he was when Stanislav Rastorotsky,
Vladimir Smirnov and Vikenty Dmitriyev were actively working. He
should have appeared back then. And it seems to me that his name
would have ranked right up there with the coaches of Lyudmila
Turishcheva, Polina Astakhova and Larisa Petrik. But fate worked
out in such a way that the hermit of the mid 1960s produced his
best pupil in the mid 1990s. And therefore he is viewed as
somewhat eccentric.
The following is from a conversation with Pilkin at the
Russian Championships in Voronezh in the spring of 1994.
"Boris Vasilyevich, besides Khorkina, are there any strong
girls in your school for Olympic reserves?"
"God bless you, my dear! What school for Olympic reserves?!
We can't call ourselves that - we don't have the equipment. The
bars in our gym are made of wood. Latynina started out on bars
like that when she first began gymnastics. People say, we'll get
the right equipment for the gym and then they'll give us the rank
of school for Olympic reserves. But what money are we going to
use to get equipment? There is one hope - if Svetka starts to
win. Maybe we'll get equipment with her as a "security deposit."
But we do have good girls. Even very good ones."
I spent a long time choosing my words. Finally I forced out
the following:
"How do you work at all? By all logic, all your kids should
be "in bits and pieces."
"No, no, not at all. Ha - so far they haven't had any
injuries. After all, Khorkina grew up on apparatus of this kind.
And we will bring up others. There are methods, you know. You
just have to search for them."
Well, Khorkina is the embodiment of Pilkin's search. One of
the best gymnasts in the world, she is absolutely "anti-
gymnastics" in terms of her physical characteristics: she's too
tall, and her muscles are too long. Pilkin doesn't hide the fact
that for a long time he didn't see her as having any prospects.
There were just her stubborn eyes, her strikingly beautiful
outward appearance, and a body with which she couldn't jump
higher than a middle-level ranking in artistic gymnastics.
Incidentally, it was Pilkin who, in less than a year,
brought Svetlana from the simplest gymnastics, by today's
standards, to the point of performing super-elements of his own
creation. How he did this without her suffering a single injury
is known only to him.
* * *
It is hard for me to name the exact moment when Sveta
Khorkina went from being a little girl who was somewhat capable
in gymnastics to a gymnast whom, to all appearances, people will
be talking about for a long time to come. Maybe it happened in
the fall of 1993, at the Russian Championships held at the Ozero
Krugloye [Round Lake] training center, when she was crying
bitterly right before going out on the floor, repeating that she
didn't know how to do anything and everything was going to be a
complete fiasco. But then she suddenly collected herself and
became the country's AA champion, also winning three events.
Or maybe it happened in the spring of 1994 at the national
championships in Voronezh. That was the first time she didn't
cry, either before the competition or later, when she lost to
Dina Kochetkova on the last event (floor exercise). And she had
been leading through three events.
Or maybe it happened in April of the same year, at the World
Championships in Brisbane, Australia, where she became a silver
medalist twice. Or possibly it was even later, that summer, at a
training camp in Italy. She suddenly realized that her God-given
beauty could be further stylized, and she got a very effective
haircut, chopping off the traditional ponytail. After returning
to Moscow, she suddenly announced, "I'm quitting gymnastics. I'm
going to become a model."
She hasn't quit yet, nor has she ended up on the cover of
fashion magazines, but she has clearly gotten a sense of her
strength.
* * *
Without seeing her on the podium, it is impossible to
understand what kind of a phenomenon Svetlana Khorkina is in
gymnastics. Any kind of description turns out hackneyed; it
doesn't convey what she's really like. She has long since passed
the stage of "the Belgorod Snow Maiden" and, fortunately, has not
turned into an "iron lady" like Turishcheva. But she has not
suffered from defenselessness for a long time now.
A specialness is preserved throughout the entire duration of
her exercises. And immediately after the dismount, you see in
front of you a performing artist who flawlessly plays to the
photographers - and cameramen.
Perhaps even the most famous gymnasts of the past didn't
have access to the full range of emotions. The only athletes like
her (and I mean psychologically) were Lyudmila Turishcheva and
Svetlana Boginskaya. But, unfortunately, they didn't know how to
smile. The only performer like her was Olga Korbut.
Meanwhile, Svetlana Khorkina is still at the beginning of
her career. Ahead are the Olympic Games.

------------------------------

End of GYMN-L Digest - 18 Aug 1995 to 19 Aug 1995 - Special issue
*****************************************************************